What does luxury really mean to millennial consumers?

The aim of this study was to determine how millennial luxury consumers define luxury based on a holistic systems theory perspective. The human ecosystem and its components were used to fully investigate the system of the millennial luxury consumer. A mixed methodology was used by conducting interviews and then a consumer survey. Based on the findings from this research, the definition for luxury based on the view of the millennial luxury consumer is as followed: Luxury is the characteristics of the product themselves, addresses the consumer's personal needs, and addresses the consumer's social needs. This study suggests that the ecosystem of the millennial luxury consumers, including its environments and interactions, helped in constructing their definition of luxury. This definition delivers millennial luxury consumer insights for luxury retailers and may provide strategic adaptations to help attract and retain millennial luxury consumers, while also supporting business sustainability in a challenging retail environment.     

A review of research on personality in teams: Accounting for pathways spanning levels of theory and analysis

Over the last half century there has been a great deal of interest in the role of personality in teams. In this article we review the theoretical and empirical research on this topic to summarize what we have learned and also to provide a foundation for future research necessary for application of this knowledge to human resource management decisions. We describe research that emphasizes both team- and individual-levels of analysis and theory, and we discuss recent efforts that attempt to bridge these two levels. We conclude by identifying several issues that should take precedence in research in order to advance our understanding of the role of personality in teams.     

Nature conservation for future sustainable shorelines: Lessons from seeking to involve the public

The soft coastline of eastern England is dynamic, with much of it subject to the risk of erosion or flooding. A number of internationally important coastal nature conservation sites are under threat. This paper explores the character and reasoning behind changing coastal management policies and governance practices in England. It reveals how Natural England is tackling these changes, notably with regard to establishing reconstituted nature conservation sites and re-designed coastlines. Such an approach requires the close involvement of policy leaders, agency officers, local maritime authorities and local residents. This paper explains how participatory processes play a critical role in the design of new coastlines that are ecologically and geomorphologically sustainable yet enable local communities to survive and flourish. A case study involving a visioning exercise at Winterton-on-Sea in Norfolk, UK, highlights the many practical difficulties around planning for the uncertain future of internationally important nature conservation sites, and local economies and communities. Future moves toward sustainable coastal alignments will have to involve a wide mix of public and civic bodies, as well as local communities, and will be underpinned by risk-based planning and well-researched adaptation and relocation arrangements.     

Innovation and performance in the hotel industry

The growing competition in the hotel industry is one of the main challenges of this segment, which increasingly depends on the ability to innovate. Thus, this article aims to analyze the impact of innovation on the performance of employees and hotel organizations. This is an exploratory study, with a quantitative approach using a structured computer-administered questionnaire to 73 managers of hotel chains, located in Brazil, which correspond to 792 hotels. Data analysis used multiple linear regression method with SPSS software to find out the relationship between the factors of innovation (communication, processes, leadership, and strategy) and the performance of employees and hotel organizations. Results show that the factors of communication, leadership, and strategy directly influence the performance of the employees. However, only the leadership factor directly affects the performance of hotel organizations.     

Separating what we eat from where: Measuring the effect of food away from home on diet quality

Many argue that food away from home (FAFH) is a contributing factor to the obesity epidemic, showing that body mass index and consumption of FAFH are positively correlated. However, correlation analyses using a simple regression approach, such as the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), do not prove that FAFH causes weight gain. We use a first-difference estimator to establish a causal relationship between FAFH and dietary intakes. Using dietary recall data from the 2003–2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the 1994–1996 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals, we find that FAFH does indeed increase caloric intake and reduce diet quality, but that the effect is smaller than if estimated using OLS. Thus, models based on associations are likely biased upward, as much as 25% by our estimates.     

Prepurchase financing pool: Revealing the IRR problem

Internal rate of return (IRR) is one of the most common and important indicators in investment analysis because it is often used by managers and practitioners as a decision-making criterion. Moreover, the IRR reflects the financial cost in financing decisions and it helps to answer the following question when comparing different financing alternatives: “Which loan is the cheapest?” Among the different types of loans in Brazil, there is a financial product called a prepurchase financing pool (PPFP) that is generally regarded as the best option for financing or loans. The objective of this article is to use the prepurchase financing pool to show the flaws of IRR in financial analysis. In particular, when IRR is used to evaluate the prepurchase financing pool, one finds problems of reliability regarding (i) existence, (ii) uniqueness, and (iii) economic interpretation of the rate. The results show that the prepurchase financing pool is relevant evidence that the IRR flaws are found in financial products.     

Gender and graduate economics education in the US

Abstract

This paper reports on the findings of a survey of top economics graduate schools as they relate to women and men. The results provide strong evidence that at these top graduate schools, women graduate students are less integrated in their economic disciplines than are male graduate students. In the second part of the paper, this paper relates those findings to alternative theories as to why this is the case. This paper concludes by suggesting that the emphasis on theoretical studies in the current core of the graduate economics program can be seen as a type of hazing process that seems to have a significant cost since many women (and men) with great creative promise are discouraged from continuing in economics and do not benefit nearly as much as they would have from more policy-driven core courses.     

Managing the Waters of Baՙth Country: The Politics of Water Scarcity in Syria

The Syrian government and international development agencies commonly present water scarcity as being one of Syria's main development challenges. This paper draws on a set of international reports, written in consultation with Syrian officials, to reveal the politics of this scarcity. I show how water scarcity is constructed and ordered through spatial representations. Rather than accepting the common explanation that scarcity is the result of population pressure, I argue that Syria's water scarcity is a consequence of the ruling Ba?th party's continuous promotion of water-intensive agriculture. This support for the agricultural sector, motivated in part by a desire for food self-sufficiency and growth through an expansion in irrigated agriculture, is linked to the rural roots of the Ba?th party and the influential Peasants Union. In revealing these key national politics, this analysis highlights how geopolitical studies of water in the Middle East must move beyond a focus on inter-state dynamics and pay critical attention to the politics operating around water distribution and use on a range of scalar levels.     

Work motivation and public service motivation: disentangling varieties of motivation and job satisfaction

Research on motivation in the public sector has used public service motivation (PSM) and self-determination theory (SDT) interchangeably. This paper compares both theories, develops hypotheses pertaining to their assumptions, and empirically tests them in two public offices in Switzerland. We then explore their relationship with job satisfaction as an indicator of predictive validity. We find that SDT and PSM display conceptual differentiation and SDT has a strongest relationship to job satisfaction. However, moderation analysis suggests that employees with high levels of PSM have more stable job satisfaction compared to their low-PSM counterparts.     

图像的力量:秦始皇的模型宇宙及其影响

在过去的几十年中,精美的唐代釉陶塑像,如骆驼和仆从等,一直是收藏者和博物馆的珍宝。人们一直称赞它们是出色的雕塑品,但却甚少留意它们在墓葬背景下的功能。文章对秦始皇陵(d.210 B.C.)的检视揭示出其墓中的塑像其实是一个更大型、更复杂的结构与形象之中的一个组成部分。著名的兵马俑是秦始皇巧夺天工的陵墓的一个组成部分,其他部分还包括“真实的”人和动物、缩小的青铜战车、宫殿模型和天体图案。如果我们想了解这众多部分所组成的整体的目的,就必须考虑古代中国人是如何看待各类图像的。我们会发现,其实在古代中国人眼中,图像与它所表现的主体地位是平等的。籍由在青铜、陶瓷或图画中创造形象,古代中国人为死去的皇帝重现出一个宇宙。文章描述了用来理解图像的哲学概念并运用考古发现和文本材料对此进行论述。近期考古发现使人们可以重新估量中国墓葬中的模型明器,普遍认为这些图像的力量相当大。中国人从不收集陵墓中的塑像的原因是,在他们看来,这些塑像是死者真实的仆从和士兵。